No Pressure
Wise Wins First Winter X Games Gold in Ski SuperPipe
Before a capacity crowd, David Wise – in just his second Winter X Games – overcame overwhelming odds to capture gold in Men’s Ski SuperPipe.with a top score of 93.00.
“I just didn’t think about it as pressure,” Wise said. “I just focused on the perfect halfpipe and perfect conditions. I just wanted to show the world who I am and what I can do. Thanks to everyone for giving me the opportunity to show you what I can do in the pipe.”
All the talk before the competition revolved around Kevin Rolland’s attempt at a three-peat and Aspen’s Torin Yater-Wallace’s attempt at capturing gold in his hometown. All the while Wise flew under the radar and consistently put on great runs.
Joining Wise on the podium with the silver medal is another relatively unknown skier Noah Bowman, who entered Winter X Games Aspen 2012 as a second alternate and found out he would be competing two hours before the elimination round.
“It was kind of nice, I was just looking at this week as a good practice week – having fun with it,” Bowman said with a smile. ” Having fun all week and no pressure thinking about the comp – that was good. Sadly a couple of guys got hurt – but for me it was nice to be in and just making it to finals – I couldn’t believe I did that. Then putting down a good run today and being rewarded for it – it feels good.”
Last year’s silver medalist Yater-Wallace grabbed the bronze with a high-score of 89.66.
“I felt like I was expected to do well,” Yater-Wallace said. “I tried to put the pressure aside, but it is so hard as you are standing at the top about to drop. I am stoked that I am on the podium again.”
Rolland finished fourth with a score of 89.33.
The Ski SuperPipe event represents the progression of the sport and showcases the best pipe riders in the world. The SuperPipe course consists of a large halfpipe structure with vertical walls. The course is approximately 567-foot long and 66 feet wide, with 22-foot walls. SuperPipe is judged on amplitude, execution, difficulty, landings and use of the course.
For Winter X Games media information, including press releases, logos and additional images from past events, log on to www.espneventmedia.com. To view medalist runs, visit the Winter X Games You Tube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/xgames and follow the X Games on Twitter at Twitter.com/xgames
Additional photos are available from ESPN Images bit.ly/WX16Pix – password: wxg16
WINTER X GAMES ASPEN 2012
Winter X Games Aspen 2012 returns to Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., January 26-29, 2012, with live coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. This year marks the 11th consecutive year the event is being held in Aspen and features more than 200 of the world’s best athletes in the sports of Skiing, Snowboarding and Snowmobile. In addition to 16 hours of live programing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, more than nine hours of Winter X Games Aspen content will be offered on ESPN3 and 25 hours on ESPN 3D.
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Contacts: Danny Chi, ESPN, 310-642-1509, danny.c.chi@espn.com
Katie Moses-Swope, ESPN, 303-290-7888, katie.moses-swope@espn.com
Alex Rozis, ESPN, 310-642-1533, alex.a.rozis@espn.com
Grace Coryell, ESPN, 310-642-1519, grace.s.coryell@espn.com